In
this remarkable new exploration of the Knights Templar, author Sanford
Holst goes beyond the traditional events of their founding in 1119 and the
death of Jacques de Molay in 1314. Everyone knows that string of events to
some degree. What they do not know is how the Templars became who they
were, and amassed an incredible amount of power and wealth amid strict
secrecy.

Their unusual abilty to do these things is carefully traced back
to Solomon's Temple and a number of other contributing sources. This
detective work moves from clue to clue much like a Dan Brown book, except
that these are real people and real events.

Templar
arches of Grand Master's hall on Temple Mount in Jerusalem

A
critical part of that story is the frequently-overlooked group of clerical
brothers who wore green robes and managed all of the Templars' financial
affairs. They were also responsible for the high degree of secrecy in
which this work was surrounded. Their great value to the Order was
recognized by the pope, who gave them this special dispensation to wear
the green robe with a red Templar cross upon it. When King Philip and Pope
Clement attacked the Templars in 1307, it was these green-robed men who
made possible the escape of many knights, clerics and servingmen of the
Order.

All
those things contributed to the surviving knights' relationship with the
early Masons of those days, and much of Freemasonry can be traced back to
those times.

This
is a fascinating journey among the people and events that gave us the
extraordinary society known as the Knights Templar. They still capture our
imagination hundreds of years later -- and are now seen in rich detail
that brings them to life as never before.

Sworn in Secret
plunges deep into all the convincing details a person wants to see if they
are really interested in knowing what happened. This is especially true of
the events related to Masons. All the sources of this full Templar history
are noted and many footnotes are added -- in a total of 388 pages and 45
illustrations. The illustrations in Sworn in Secret include maps,
drawings, paintings and some extraordinary photographs that bring home the
full Templar experience.

When
many Templars were burned to death after 1307, it inspired Dante to write
his Inferno. That in turn inspired Dan Brown to write his Inferno. But
the story of the surviving Templars is in many ways as fascinating as
those two works of fiction.

Book
Review of Dan Brown's Inferno

These
intriguing details of Dan Brown's Inferno book will whet your
appetite for more. See the Inferno
book review

Secret
Passage-ways in Florence

Built
by the notoriously secretive Medici family, this passageway actually
exists, and Robert Langdon finds danger there at every turn. See
Inferno passageways.

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that world and this one. Check it out on the Facebook
page.